Working as a Virtual Assistant is one of the easiest available options for working from home. This type of employment has emerged thanks to the internet and there is an increasing demand for virtual assistants. Do you want to grasp more information on how to work as a virtual assistant from the convenience of your home? In this article, we address all the keys to accessing this type of employment.
Virtual assistants are qualified professionals who offer administrative services to companies. These professionals carry out their job functions from home or anywhere else (co-working, cafeteria, hotel…).
Virtual assistants can perform a wide variety of tasks, in fact, the services they offer are almost infinite, and it depends largely on training, experience, skills, and of course, what the company demands.
Roles of virtual assistants
The main role of a virtual assistant is that of a secretary/clerk who works from home.
Tasks assigned to virtual assistants are:
- Phone calls.
- Email management.
- Internet searches.
- Data entry.
- Appointment scheduling by planning and scheduling meetings, conferences and trips.
- Editing of articles.
- Projects management.
- Accounting.
- Translation
- Creation and monitoring of email marketing campaigns.
- Technical support.
- Graphic design.
- Management of a blog.
- Proofreading.
- Social media management.
- Customer Service.
- The organization of trips; including flights and hotel reservations.
- And any other duty assigned by the employer.
As you’d have noticed, the job functions that a virtual assistant can occupy are very wide. Everything will depend solely on what the company that hires you or for which you offer your services as AV requires.
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This does not imply that you’d have to be proficient in all these functions to work as a virtual assistant, but they can be functions that you develop over time.
What options are there when working as a Virtual Assistant?
When it comes to working as a virtual assistant, there are two options: Employee or Employer.
Like many other trades, the virtual assistant can choose to work as an employee or start his own business; in fact, this is one of the businesses that you can start with little money.
Rationally, being either an employee or an employer has its advantages and disadvantages.
- Employee: You don’t have to invest or find your own clients. Your charges, work hours and the manner of how you work will be more restricted. Evidently, when hired as an independent professional, you would be considered a self-employed worker and on many occasions, you would be mandated to be registered as a self-employed person to issue the corresponding invoices. There are some web pages where you can find specific job offers for virtual assistants where you are not required to be freelance.
- Employer: As an employer, you will have an easier time scheduling, choosing your clients and setting your rates. However, you would’ve to source for customers and pay the corresponding taxes. Starting a virtual assistance business is relatively less difficult and doesn’t need a large investment. The usual thing to start this online business will be to have a computer; telephone, internet, and printer then create a professional blog to promote your business.
Where to get jobs to work as a virtual assistant?
Before now, there were websites dedicated to publishing job offers to work as a virtual assistant remotely. With the growing demand for these professionals, you can already find job opportunities on almost any job posting website. However, we’d be listing the main websites to find job offers for virtual assistants from home.
Where to find virtual assistant jobs?
- FlexJobs
- Freelancer
- Milanuncios
- Infojobs
- Work for the world
- 24/7 Virtual Assistant
- Worldwide101
- Assistant Match
- eaHelp
- Fancy hands
- People Per Hour
- Red Butler
- Time Etc.
- Uassist.Me
- Upwork
- Virtual Assistant USA
- Worldwide 101
- Ziptask
- Zirtual
The average salary for virtual assistants in the United States, according to indeed is $19.00 per hour. But with more experience and exposure comes higher wages.
Training to be a virtual assistant
Although no specific training is required to work as a virtual assistant, it is required to have certain organizational and administrative skills, in addition to having knowledge of certain computer programs. Skills such as:
- Personal Time Management.
- Bookkeeping.
- Scheduling and Correspondence.
- Lead Generation.
- Content Management.
- Social Media Management.
- E-Commerce Support.
- Writing.
- Proofreading
- Project Management
- Data Entry